NATIONWIDE TRENDS
In August 2016, 83 leases were authorized on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for petroleum exploration purposes. This is compared to 105 authorized in August 2015. 145,032 acres were acquired with these 83 authorized leases. That is a increase of 39,984.19 acres in contrast to the 105,048 acres authorized in August 2015.
While 83 oil and gas leases were authorized through the BLM in August, 281 leases were closed over the same month. This is a increase of 27 leases as opposed to August 2015 when there were 254 closed leases. 244,740 acres were released with these 281 closed leases. This is 138,202.39 fewer acres released in August compared to the 382,942 released in the same month in 2015.
August 2016 | August 2015 | Net | Change | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Authorized Lease | 83 | 105 | 22 | 20.95% |
Authorized Acres | 145,032 | 105,048 | 39,984.19 | 38.06% |
Closed Lease | 281 | 254 | 27 | 10.63% |
Closed Acres | 244,740 | 382,942 | 138,202.39 | 36.09% |
STATE TRENDS
Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado are the three most active states when ranked by total authorized petroleum exploration leases on public land overseen by the BLM. Wyoming is the most active state with 18,832 authorized leases, accounting for 31.28% of the overall petroleum exploration leases in the United States. This is 5,347 more leases than New Mexico, the second most active state, which hosts 13,485 petroleum exploration leases and accounts for 22.4% of the overall petroleum exploration leases in the United States. Colorado has 7,441 fewer lease than New Mexico, making it the third most active state, with 6,044 petroleum exploration leases—22.4% of the authorized petroleum exploration leases overseen by the BLM.
State | August 2016 (Authorized Leases) |
---|---|
Wyoming | 18,832 |
New Mexico | 13,485 |
Colorado | 6,044 |
Montana | 3,789 |
Utah | 3,774 |
CLOSED LEASES IN AUGUST
Wyoming, Colorado, and North Dakota had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of August 2016. Wyoming is distinguished by its 105 closed leases, the most closed that month and 50 more than August 2016. This is 63 more leases than Colorado, which lost 42 oil and gas leases—an increase of 25 leases from last August. North Dakota jettisoned 11 fewer leases than Colorado. The 31 petroleum exploration leases closed in North Dakota are 24 greater than August last year.
State | August 2016 (Closed Leases) |
August 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wyoming | 105 | 55 | 50 | 90.91% |
Colorado | 42 | 17 | 25 | 147.06% |
North Dakota | 31 | 7 | 24 | 342.86% |
New Mexico | 31 | 45 | 14 | 31.11% |
Montana | 24 | 6 | 18 | 300% |
COUNTY TRENDS
CLOSED LEASES IN AUGUST
Carbon, Slope, and Sweetwater counties had the most closed BLM oil and gas leases over the course of August 2016. Carbon County, Wyoming is distinguished by its 23 closed leases, the most closed that month and 18 more than August 2015. This is 9 more leases than Slope County, North Dakota, which lost 14 oil and gas leases—an increase of 14 leases from last August. Sweetwater County, Wyoming jettisoned 1 fewer leases than Slope. The 13 petroleum exploration leases closed in Sweetwater County are 0 0 August last year.
County | August 2016 (Closed Leases) |
August 2015 (Closed Leases) |
Net | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carbon, Wyoming | 23 | 5 | 18 | 360% |
Slope, North Dakota | 14 | 0 | 14 | |
Sweetwater, Wyoming | 13 | 13 | ||
Chaves, New Mexico | 12 | 3 | 9 | 300% |
Eddy, New Mexico | 12 | 29 | 17 | 58.62% |
VIEW INDIVIDUAL STATE TRENDS REPORTS
While this report focuses on those states and counties with the greatest amount of authorized leases or significant change in activity on public land, this is hardly to neglect the extensive activity occurring elsewhere. For more locally focused reports, complete with graphs and time series tables, visit any of our listed states below or search for a particular county’s trend report on The Drillings™.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
GET REPORT ALERTS
Each month, we release a new report on oil and gas lease trends. Get notified when the next report is published, updated data is released, or new features are available on The Drillings™ by joining our mailing list.
*These reports are summarizing oil and gas leases on public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and do not encompass sales or transfers occurring on private land.